no title

Pension fund has shown responsibility

Letters Policy

The Dispatch welcomes letters to the editor from readers. Typed letters of 200 words or
fewer are preferred; all might be edited. Each letter must include name, home address and daytime
phone number.
Dispatch.com also posts letters that don't make it to print in
The Dispatch.

FAX

Also in Opinion

Subscribe to The Dispatch

Already a subscriber?
Enroll in EZPay and get a free gift!
Enroll now.

Wednesday March 20, 2013 5:25 AM

The Thursday
Dispatch editorial “Fix it now, not later” was unnecessary and alarmist on many fronts and
does not paint an accurate picture of the current funding status of the Ohio Police & Fire
Pension Fund. We are not in dire straits — the retirement system for Ohio’s public safety officers
is solvent. To suggest otherwise is irresponsible.

Comments in the editorial were from members of the Ohio Retirement Study Council who were
reacting to actuarial data showing OP&F was not compliant with the state’s long-term funding
requirements. However, the data indicated a significant improvement in our funding status, to what
is now actuarially a relatively modest step to compliance with state rules.

Throughout last year’s legislative process that finally resulted in pension reform, OP&F and
the state’s own independent actuary stated publicly that the changes in Senate Bill 340 would
improve our system’s long-term funding substantially, but further changes in the future may be
necessary. When our next study is completed in October, we will know if additional changes are
needed. In the meantime, we have run our funding numbers and calculated that as of the end of
February, OP&F can be compliant with state’s requirement with a moderate adjustment to
health-care funding.

Included in this estimate is the impressive 14.8 percent return on investments in 2012 and the
fact that the effects of the huge 2008 financial downturn are now off the books in an actuarial
sense. Our position is not to kick the can down the road, but to let the reforms work as they were
intended, then make adjustments as needed.

Senate Bill 340 was carefully crafted (and passed with near-unanimous support) to avoid
knee-jerk reactions and constant changes to member benefits and contributions. That is why the
legislation calls for the ORSC to review long-term funding every three years, beginning with our
next actuarial study.